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Justice League Odyssey
Justice League Odyssey, Vol. 4: Last Stand
Justice League Odyssey faces off against a threat to reality...but in order to save it, they'll have to risk unraveling the entire universe!
Lost beyond the edge of the universe, the misfit team of Justice League Odyssey crosses paths with Epoch. The Lord of Time has a great plan to solve everything, but it might be the single most dangerous thing anyone has ever done. As Jessica Cruz and her team try to figure out if he's a genius, or crazy--or both--time is running out.
As Darkseid's threat grows closer, risking reality as we know it, the Justice League Odyssey misfits will have one chance to avert catastrophe...but they'll have to risk unraveling the entire history of the DC Universe!
Collects Justice League Odyssey #19-25.
Lost beyond the edge of the universe, the misfit team of Justice League Odyssey crosses paths with Epoch. The Lord of Time has a great plan to solve everything, but it might be the single most dangerous thing anyone has ever done. As Jessica Cruz and her team try to figure out if he's a genius, or crazy--or both--time is running out.
As Darkseid's threat grows closer, risking reality as we know it, the Justice League Odyssey misfits will have one chance to avert catastrophe...but they'll have to risk unraveling the entire history of the DC Universe!
Collects Justice League Odyssey #19-25.
176 pages, Paperback
First published March 30, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
May 27, 2021
This quickly turned into a slog. Once time travel became the main plot with Epoch, trying to write Darkseid out of history, I knew exactly where this was headed. Abnett pads this out so they can get to 25 issues when they only really need one. The writing was immediately on the wall to reset everything and put the toys back in the toybox. Meh.
October 26, 2020
3.5/5
I read this as single issues, so I'm using this volume to collect my thoughts on this series overall. This was a fun read. As much as I like the amount of comics aimed at new readers, I also appreciate ones like this that are aimed at old DC dinosaurs like myself, where it really digs into the universe and shines some light on characters who aren't Batman/Supes/Wondy. My girl Jessica Cruz continues to kill it, she's the bright light in this book. I also really enjoyed the amount of twists and turns in this title - as soon as I thought I knew what was going to happen, a wrench would be thrown in the plot. I knew from Abnett's work on Titans that he's excellent at telling team stories, and this is no exception. We have two distinct teams over the course of the story and Abnett manages to make each one feel like a real group of people coming together (and I'm also a sucker for the hero being forced to work with a group of villains, which we have here as well). I did knock off a few stars just because this wasn't an absolute favorite of mine, and I also wonder if some of the twists and turns would feel less spectacular if you were reading this series all at once in trade paperback form versus waiting for each issue to be released. This is one of those series that did benefit from the single issue format, because it gives you time each month to speculate on what's going to happen. It also felt a little jarring at times with the amount of information being thrown at you. But overall, definitely a good read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I've also gotten so used to series I like getting cancelled that I've forgotten what it feels like when an author actually gets to write an ending for the story they wanted, yay! Also: just remember that Darkseid is.
I read this as single issues, so I'm using this volume to collect my thoughts on this series overall. This was a fun read. As much as I like the amount of comics aimed at new readers, I also appreciate ones like this that are aimed at old DC dinosaurs like myself, where it really digs into the universe and shines some light on characters who aren't Batman/Supes/Wondy. My girl Jessica Cruz continues to kill it, she's the bright light in this book. I also really enjoyed the amount of twists and turns in this title - as soon as I thought I knew what was going to happen, a wrench would be thrown in the plot. I knew from Abnett's work on Titans that he's excellent at telling team stories, and this is no exception. We have two distinct teams over the course of the story and Abnett manages to make each one feel like a real group of people coming together (and I'm also a sucker for the hero being forced to work with a group of villains, which we have here as well). I did knock off a few stars just because this wasn't an absolute favorite of mine, and I also wonder if some of the twists and turns would feel less spectacular if you were reading this series all at once in trade paperback form versus waiting for each issue to be released. This is one of those series that did benefit from the single issue format, because it gives you time each month to speculate on what's going to happen. It also felt a little jarring at times with the amount of information being thrown at you. But overall, definitely a good read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I've also gotten so used to series I like getting cancelled that I've forgotten what it feels like when an author actually gets to write an ending for the story they wanted, yay! Also: just remember that Darkseid is.
March 26, 2021
It's the final battle against Darkseid, and only Jessica Cruz and her ragtag group of Justice Leaguers stand against him and mastery of all of time itself! Can she reach her old friends, Cyborg, Starfire, and Azrael, or will this be the last stand of the Ghost Sector?
Justice League Odyssey has continued to evolve over its 25 issue run; by this point, it's become about Jessica Cruz's struggles more than anything else, and with the stakes higher than ever and the odds stacked against her, the momentum has built to a tipping point. Dan Abnett pulls out all the stops in these final issues - we've got time travel, parallel dimensions, callbacks to the earliest issues of the run, and a conclusion that manages to wrap everything up nicely and even tie into Dark Nights: Death Metal right at the end too.
The tag-team of Will Conrad and Cliff Richards sees the book over the finish line, and the two have worked well together over the years on other books to the point where it's sometimes hard to tell them apart. I think Conrad is the more impressive of the pair, but neither is a slouch when the story needs it most.
This is certainly the little book that could. Even though it's a Justice League title, I feel like it flew under most people's radar, and it's been consistently good all the way through, so it deserves better than that. Abnett's masterful storytelling and a stable of consistently great artists have made Justice League Odyssey a journey we should all get on board with, and a vehicle for characters like Cyborg, Starfire, and Jessica Cruz that deserve all the spotlight they're getting any more.
Justice League Odyssey has continued to evolve over its 25 issue run; by this point, it's become about Jessica Cruz's struggles more than anything else, and with the stakes higher than ever and the odds stacked against her, the momentum has built to a tipping point. Dan Abnett pulls out all the stops in these final issues - we've got time travel, parallel dimensions, callbacks to the earliest issues of the run, and a conclusion that manages to wrap everything up nicely and even tie into Dark Nights: Death Metal right at the end too.
The tag-team of Will Conrad and Cliff Richards sees the book over the finish line, and the two have worked well together over the years on other books to the point where it's sometimes hard to tell them apart. I think Conrad is the more impressive of the pair, but neither is a slouch when the story needs it most.
This is certainly the little book that could. Even though it's a Justice League title, I feel like it flew under most people's radar, and it's been consistently good all the way through, so it deserves better than that. Abnett's masterful storytelling and a stable of consistently great artists have made Justice League Odyssey a journey we should all get on board with, and a vehicle for characters like Cyborg, Starfire, and Jessica Cruz that deserve all the spotlight they're getting any more.
May 27, 2022
How can Marvel nail cosmic stories and DC be so hit and miss with them?
So this series was mostly plodding filler. They could have told the same story in a short limited series and cut out all of the fat. Also, fixing big events with time travel is almost as bad as having a character wake up and say "Thank goodness it was only a dream!". If there are no consequences to anything then why should we care about any of this?
I pushed through this series because of Darkseid and on that account I wasn't let down. He is as terrifying as ever and we got some pivotal plot developments on his end (really they just reset the status quo, but hopefully we'll be seeing more of him in the future).
So this series was mostly plodding filler. They could have told the same story in a short limited series and cut out all of the fat. Also, fixing big events with time travel is almost as bad as having a character wake up and say "Thank goodness it was only a dream!". If there are no consequences to anything then why should we care about any of this?
I pushed through this series because of Darkseid and on that account I wasn't let down. He is as terrifying as ever and we got some pivotal plot developments on his end (really they just reset the status quo, but hopefully we'll be seeing more of him in the future).
September 30, 2024
After despairing of the first book of this I realised to my horror I still had all the other ones, obviously bought in a moment of sale-driven madness. Fortunately Dan Abnett takes over from the second volume and gently eases his way out of the tedious cosmic entanglements set up by the series’ premise, turning it into… Dan Abnett plays his Guardians Of The Galaxy hits. A rag tag band of adventurers operating out of a space junkheap including a range of doubtfully loyal battlers and a ferocious small mammal. It’s fine! It’s an enjoyable dynamic, Jessica Cruz is probably the most readable of DC’s many Green Lanterns and she makes a good lead, the art is unshowy but not confusing. Just as with the first volume, you’ll guess where it’s all going easily enough but very much unlike the first volume you might enjoy yourself getting there. Hard to fully recommend: Abnett’s done much better and there’s a fundamental “what’s all this for?” sense of marking time between events. But credit for a surprising salvage job nonetheless.
March 16, 2021
Basic Plot: Jessica Cruz and company throw down with Darkseid as he uses the Revision Mechanism to bring back Apokolips.
The multiverse just got a lot more complicated again. Honestly, who really expected Apokolips to stay gone for long? There is a sense of desperation to the characters in this series, and a lot of darkness to the story. The fights pull no punches as characters are revised or killed, or brought back from other timelines. It's more than a little bleak, and these events lead right into the Death Metal crossover, making this book part of the required reading for understanding. Thr art was good and so was the story.
The multiverse just got a lot more complicated again. Honestly, who really expected Apokolips to stay gone for long? There is a sense of desperation to the characters in this series, and a lot of darkness to the story. The fights pull no punches as characters are revised or killed, or brought back from other timelines. It's more than a little bleak, and these events lead right into the Death Metal crossover, making this book part of the required reading for understanding. Thr art was good and so was the story.
April 23, 2021
The ending to the series is...fine. I’d sum up the whole series as a filler arc in an anime. Some good parts, some bad, nothing groundbreaking, ultimately predictable, and ends by more or less putting all the toys back in the box (there are some setup threads at the end, but let’s be real, they’ll probably be inconsequential). The dialogue often felt like filler, and it rarely felt like it had real weight, but the art was consistently solid and there are handful of entertaining moments. It wasn’t ever offensively bad, but I don’t know if the time I spent on the series feels justified. If you’re scrounging for something to read, you could do worse.
May 5, 2021
I liked the Justice League Odyssey series a lot. I know it wasn't a popular title but I like the oddball group of 2nd tier heroes and as well the sci-fi/space travel and time travel aspects of this story. Jessica Cruz is a fine female super-hero who is the star of this series. I really like her when the writers don't go on harping about her status as a Hispanic-Feminist super hero (which frankly I just kinda assume they do most of the time, maybe they don't, maybe I'm just a xenophobic-sexist!) and just concentrate on the story at hand which is fairly coherent as presented here in the last book of the series.
What is the story? In very brief summary, Darkseid is controlling the minds of some the superheroes in order to acquire a time altering mechanism which will establish Apokolips as the center of a Universe that Darkseid controls. Got it? Ok, so along the way through time and space a group of kooky, nutty goofball superheroes such as a red lantern cat, a gal calling herself Gamma Knife, Blackstar(?) Starfire's sister, (wait a sec, is it Blackfire? too lazy to check), Starfire herself, Cyborg, Orion (Darkseid's son?) and a time-travel master called Epoch must put a stop to the evil, seemingly all-powerful Darkseid and his evil machinations. Do they succeed? Ha, read it and find out my buckos!
Anyway, the writing by Dan Abnett is filled w/good action and a good sense of humor as well a fairly decent explanation of all the time paradoxes, doesn't overcomplicate the narrative or over-simplify it. The art is pretty good; I'm not a big fan of Cliff Richard who does most of the art here, but he's capable enough and he does a good job of portraying the female super-heroes, making them beautiful in their skin-tight outfits w/out demeaning them needlessly w/excess sex-appeal. (The sex-appeal is at an appreciatively adequate level.) I recommend it, for what it's worth, I found it a lot more entertaining than the main Justice League series that ran at the same time.
What is the story? In very brief summary, Darkseid is controlling the minds of some the superheroes in order to acquire a time altering mechanism which will establish Apokolips as the center of a Universe that Darkseid controls. Got it? Ok, so along the way through time and space a group of kooky, nutty goofball superheroes such as a red lantern cat, a gal calling herself Gamma Knife, Blackstar(?) Starfire's sister, (wait a sec, is it Blackfire? too lazy to check), Starfire herself, Cyborg, Orion (Darkseid's son?) and a time-travel master called Epoch must put a stop to the evil, seemingly all-powerful Darkseid and his evil machinations. Do they succeed? Ha, read it and find out my buckos!
Anyway, the writing by Dan Abnett is filled w/good action and a good sense of humor as well a fairly decent explanation of all the time paradoxes, doesn't overcomplicate the narrative or over-simplify it. The art is pretty good; I'm not a big fan of Cliff Richard who does most of the art here, but he's capable enough and he does a good job of portraying the female super-heroes, making them beautiful in their skin-tight outfits w/out demeaning them needlessly w/excess sex-appeal. (The sex-appeal is at an appreciatively adequate level.) I recommend it, for what it's worth, I found it a lot more entertaining than the main Justice League series that ran at the same time.
May 2, 2021
A resounding... meh. Better than earlier volumes, but I just couldn’t help but feel like the whole thing... didn’t need to exist. If Darkseid was going to go back to being the evil, powerful antagonist... then why did we ever have to de-age and de-power him? I know plot has to happen, but.... I feel comics are better when they just keep with the basics. Darkseid is evil and does evil things. Done. Just let him keep doing that in new and interesting ways. DC has a lot of creative people; I’m sure they could have come up with stuff that didn’t make a massive amount of previous story feel.... worthless when it’s all retconned. I don’t know, maybe I’m being overly critical, but so much of DC from “No Justice” on (at least where I currently am) felt like a first draft: Interesting ideas, but some fat needed to be cut away to make a more streamlined story. “Year of the Villain” is showing some promise, even if it took a lot of convoluted nonsense to get there. But, I digress.... This book in particular—even though it felt like the fallout of other overly-complicated plots that didn’t need to exist—was okay for what it was. The creative team really did their best with what they had to work with, but I hope this is the start of DC doing some cleaning up and getting back to more straightforward storytelling. Complex stories don’t come from a million plot points; they come from one or two interesting plot points given depth. DC can do that very well.... They just need to get back to it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 10, 2024
With last volume’s ending it was clear timey-wimey shit would be used to kinda clear up some of this since certain elements would have been major changes and would run into other stories considering the impact of Sepulkore and the loss of certain characters. But I’m glad not all of it was swept under the rug. It was clear that it ended off in a manner to keep the events fresh in the characters’ minds and be able to continue on in continuity while referencing it. It also did lead to Darkseid being a real threat as he goes back to being himself at his peak at the finale. It is sad Death Metal immediately happened though which iirc did actually cause a lot of changes and shit meaning other writers didn’t get to play around with post-JLO characters. :/
The pacing isn’t bad but it is a tad drawn out as it’s clear it needs to reach the 35 chapter mark but the manner it goes about it (Jess’s adventure in the past with Gamma Knife, Arla Hax explaining her betrayal, and to some extent Darkseid’s talking and the time-warped JLO coming to terms with what has happened) I don’t think is bad. It used some of the extra issue space to have some fun with it instead of rushing straight through which I enjoyed even if the "have some fun with it" stuff isn't the most engaging.
Art is continued by Cliff Richards and Conrad who both continue to make a visually appealing book.
The pacing isn’t bad but it is a tad drawn out as it’s clear it needs to reach the 35 chapter mark but the manner it goes about it (Jess’s adventure in the past with Gamma Knife, Arla Hax explaining her betrayal, and to some extent Darkseid’s talking and the time-warped JLO coming to terms with what has happened) I don’t think is bad. It used some of the extra issue space to have some fun with it instead of rushing straight through which I enjoyed even if the "have some fun with it" stuff isn't the most engaging.
Art is continued by Cliff Richards and Conrad who both continue to make a visually appealing book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 17, 2021
When one of your chief characters is named Epoch, you know you are going to be dealing with some time travel. So... because that makes the events of this Volume ultimately non-existent, I'll hit the highlights only....
- Jessica and team meet up with Epoch who wants to use a machine he built to alter the timestream, eliminating Darkseid.
- Darkseid shows up and wants to use the machine to rewrite history making him the best and ruler over all.
- Eskaton vs Darkseid.... good fight.
- Jessica uses the machine to bring back the good versions of Starfire, Azrael, and Cyborg
- Darkseid gets control of the machine, restores Apokolips, and then runs when he is being defeated. Not a full victory, but gets him back to where he was before JLO.
- Timeline should be restored, but then Cyborg and Starfire end up in the "Death Metal" story.
Overall, this Volume was alright. I hate when time travel is used as a correct-all. But... still entertaining.
Recommend... but for completionists.
- Jessica and team meet up with Epoch who wants to use a machine he built to alter the timestream, eliminating Darkseid.
- Darkseid shows up and wants to use the machine to rewrite history making him the best and ruler over all.
- Eskaton vs Darkseid.... good fight.
- Jessica uses the machine to bring back the good versions of Starfire, Azrael, and Cyborg
- Darkseid gets control of the machine, restores Apokolips, and then runs when he is being defeated. Not a full victory, but gets him back to where he was before JLO.
- Timeline should be restored, but then Cyborg and Starfire end up in the "Death Metal" story.
Overall, this Volume was alright. I hate when time travel is used as a correct-all. But... still entertaining.
Recommend... but for completionists.
November 14, 2021
And so, this series came to an end with the random heroes calling themselves the Justice League take on Darkseid in a final battle to determine the fate of the multiverse. Epoch, the Lord of Time, built a machine that can reset the universe's timestream, intending to fix all wrongs, and as a mere mortal, well, he probably shouldn't. But Darkseid is a god, and an evil one at that. so he can rewrite reality to his own benefit. That's a fairly basic thing with a bunch of underpowered heroes to take on, but the whole thing felt rather average, and I don't think any of the characters in this one would rank among my favorites...save Dex-Starr the Red Lantern. I do get a kick out of a homicidal flying cat...
July 14, 2021
A decent, albeit slightly predictable ending to an entertaining run. The overall plot is fairly standard superhero mixed with some cosmic elements that Abnett is known for. It's an interesting mix of characters, resulting in some fun dialogue between them and that's probably what I liked the most. This is my first time reading a story with Jessica Cruz. Even though she certainly played the role of the lead hero, it felt like a cardboard cutout. I still don't know what makes her unique, both as a person and as a Green Lantern.
This ends up returning things to the status quo when it comes to Darkseid but leads into Death Metal.
This ends up returning things to the status quo when it comes to Darkseid but leads into Death Metal.
November 5, 2021
I find this largely preferable to Death Metal. "New" New Gods. Time Lords. A weapon that is a literal Retcon machine. Darkseid moving Apokolips back to the realm of the guides. Darkseid having control of time from the fall of the Urgrund Godworld and the Godwave it released. It's Apokolips Now (and Forever).
"Deny Darkseid" is a nice thematic follow-up to "Darkseid is".
My only complaint is that Orion seems so underpowered. But ultimately this does a pretty good DC version of Endgame.
"Deny Darkseid" is a nice thematic follow-up to "Darkseid is".
My only complaint is that Orion seems so underpowered. But ultimately this does a pretty good DC version of Endgame.
August 4, 2021
I've followed Jessica Cruz the whole time thru Justice League and Green Lanterns to this series.... She's often been a frustrating character but always interesting in how she dealt with her issues... Finally, she's the badass here. Leading two unique teams of heroes, time traveling, and giving Darkseid the finger.... I hope other writers pick up on her development here and let's see what she does next....
July 5, 2023
I think a lot of people are missing that the whole point of this run is it's not about the Big Three, and at its heart it's not really about time travel or Apocalypse. Personally I love the way relationships developed in this story, especially between Jess and Vic but really between Jess and the universe as a whole. She went from unsure of herself dork to badass leader (but still a dork) and I love these last two volumes so much for that. Also, Dex-Starr forever & ever.
April 24, 2022
Overall, I ended up really liking this run. It really kind of seems to be a Cyborg and Jessica Cruz story at it's heart. The focus on some of the more minor DC characters that I hadn't know about as much was cool as well. The only fault I had with the ending was the odd twist tie in.
Would like to see more Jessica Cruz and Dex-Starr in the future too.
Would like to see more Jessica Cruz and Dex-Starr in the future too.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 26, 2023
This series started out weak, took a collection to turn around, had a volume of energetic fun, and now with the final trade, has to turn back to the beginning for a satisfying end. It loses a lot by having to align with a dull beginning, but Abnett keeps at least some fun in each issue, and all told, I won't think of this series often but I had a good time.
November 2, 2021
An ok-ish story involving time travel, lots of character death, and a hinted romance between Cruz/Cyborg.
Maybe it suffered from me spending so much time in between volumes, but this was kind of just there?
Maybe it suffered from me spending so much time in between volumes, but this was kind of just there?
April 24, 2021
Things got a little timey wimey there for a while, but it all ended in a great conclusion for this series.
October 9, 2021
DC goes Cosmic and Temporal. Abnett gives us a pro story that is what you’d expect from comics.
March 13, 2022
This leads into Death Metal apparently... I'm interested enough that I may check that out. Overall, this tried to be a bit too sciencey for me. Time travel hurts my brain...
August 11, 2022
Well written enough, but time travel popped up so you know the ending was just gonna be "Everything is back to normal with a little looming doom in the future!"
Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews